UAE Awards the Order of Zayed II to Flydubai FZ1073 Captain Smit Machchhar and His Crew

The crew of flydubai flight FZ1073 have received one of the UAE’s state honors, the First Class Order of Zayed II, for protecting their passengers during the cockpit attack on September 30. UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan conferred it at a meeting with the crew in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, the state news agency WAM reported.

Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum handed over the decorations. Captain Smit Machchhar, the pilot attacked at the controls, was there to receive the leaders’ thanks four weeks after the flight.

What the UAE announced

According to WAM, the President received “the flydubai crew members involved in the in-flight incident on 30 September,” with Vice President and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum present. The order recognizes their efforts to keep the passengers safe.

Sheikh Hamdan, who is also the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, presented the honors and commended the crew’s actions and sense of responsibility. The leaders praised their courage and professionalism in securing the aircraft, and said protecting people’s safety remains a top priority for the UAE.

The crew thanked the President and said they were proud of the honor, WAM said. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman of Emirates Group, attended, along with other senior UAE leaders and officials.

Photos released by the UAE Presidential Court and published by The National show Sheikh Mohamed speaking with Machchhar and embracing him. Another shows the President with the crew members and flydubai chief executive Ghaith Al Ghaith.

Who was honored is not fully spelled out

The official statements do not name the recipients or say how many there were. Reports so far name only Machchhar, and Indian news agency PTI reported that he and his fellow crew members received the order.

Several groups helped that day. Flydubai’s chief executive has thanked the captain, “the pilots who secured the aircraft and landed it safely” and the cabin crew, as well as passengers who assisted.

Those pilots were flydubai crew traveling on the flight, the airline said, and they diverted the jet to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. WAM’s wording, “crew members involved,” does not say whether they and the cabin crew were among the recipients, and the passengers who helped are not mentioned.

Why the crew is being honored

The UAE Attorney General said on October 3 that the first officer attacked the captain with the cockpit crash axe in an attempted terrorist act. A fuller statement on October 9 said he had planned to crash into Ben Gurion’s terminal.

After Machchhar, struck repeatedly on the head, got the flight deck door open, crew members and passengers restrained the attacker, The National reports. The prosecutors’ October 9 account instead credits a flydubai pilot outside with opening the door using the access code.

Machchhar has described the attack in his own words, from his hospital bed in Abu Dhabi.

Flydubai says all 172 passengers and crew are safe.

The same order six UAE ambassadors received days earlier

The First Class Order of Zayed II is a presidential decoration. Four days before the crew ceremony, on October 23, Sheikh Mohamed conferred the same order on six UAE ambassadors for their diplomatic work, according to the UAE foreign ministry.

Giving it to an airline crew lifts the response to FZ1073 from an airline matter to national recognition, and it extends to a captain who is an Indian national.

It is not Machchhar’s first tribute. Sheikh Hamdan visited him in hospital on October 3 and said he had shown “the highest levels of courage, responsibility and care for human life,” according to WAM.

Israel has promised him a medal too. President Isaac Herzog said Machchhar would receive Israel’s Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism once he regains his strength, Gulf News reported, as six Israeli passengers from the flight received the same award.

The investigation is still open, and flydubai’s flights to Tel Aviv remain suspended until further notice, according to its latest statement. Machchhar has said he wants to fly again.